All eleven Bhartiya Janta Party MLAs tendered their resignation on Thursday over the cross voting done by seven of its members favouring the NC-Congress combine in the MLC elections held in the state.

Though the entire team owned the moral responsibility for the same, party sources said that all were ‘forced’ to submit the resignation as party had come under the direct attack of public as well as national leadership’s wrath over the act of impunity.

“All legislative members have tendered their resignation addressed to the Speaker while the same has also been forwarded to the National President Nitin Gadkari to take the final cognizance,” said J P Nadda, national general secretary while addressing the media late tonight.

O P Kohli, incharge and R P Singh co-incharge BJP Jammu and Kashmir were also present on the occasion as high profile drama started in the morning itself with all MLAs and national leaders locking themselves into close door meeting over the decision to be taken regarding majority of the MLAs having played the foul game while defying the whip and cross voting in favour of their respective ‘coalition favourites’.

“Though all have submitted their resignation, yet the process of identifying the seven culprits have been initiated to take stern action against them,” said J P Nadda adding that failure in recognizing them would allegedly leave guillotine falling on all eleven.

As per the detailed analysis, four BJP legislators voted for Noor Hussain (NC) and three voted for Yash Pal Khajuria (Cong).

BJP candidate Thakur Ranjit Singh got just four votes as against the party's strength of 11. In order to win the two seats of Jammu region, two candidates required 30 votes each, which the NC and Congress nominees got allegedly with the help of seven votes of the BJP as the alliance had only 52 votes in all including 29 of NC, 18 of Congress and five others which comprised Agriculture Minister Ghulam Hassan Mir (DPN), M Y Tarigami (CPM), Hakim Mohammad Yasin (PDF), Charanjit Singh and Tsetan Namgayal (both Independents).

Mohammad Ramzan, Secretary of J and K Assembly who was the Returning Officer in yesterday's election, said it was not possible to point out as to which MLA had voted for a particular candidate. "It's a secret ballot and we will send the entire record to the Election Commission of India," he said. BJP chief whip Ashok Khajuria, who had issued a whip to all 11 MLAs of the party to vote for the party's candidates, admitted that his whip was violated with impunity.

BJP state president Shamsher Singh had already taken a firm stand to expose the erring MLAs by demanding their resignations and had warned that either all will go or he would leave the seat.